Australian Culture

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You can download this cultural profile in an easy-to-read PDF format that can be printed out and accessed at any time.
Where do we get our statistics?
The figure of the total population of each country is drawn from the global estimates listed in the CIA World Factbook , unless otherwise stated. Statistics describing the country’s linguistic, religious and ethnic demographics are based on its most recent national census. However, if these statistics are out-dated, unavailable, unreliable, or the country’s statistical department does not formally gather information on the categories listed, the Cultural Atlas substitutes the most recent global estimates cited in the CIA World Factbook.
All other statistical information on the demographics of the migrant population in Australia is based on the 2016 Australian Housing and Population Census. This was retrieved from the Department of Home Affairs’ Community Information Summaries.
You can find a direct link to all these sources under the ‘References’ tab at the bottom of the page, as well as the date this profile was published (indicating when these statistics were last updated).
Welcome to the Cultural Atlas
Disclaimer:
The Indigenous people of Australia are the traditional custodians of the land, having inhabited it for an estimated 80,000 years before it was colonised. In the late 18th century, British officials established the country as a penal colony for the convicts of the British Isles. As the land was colonised, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations were dispossessed of their land and their societies were fractured and marginalised. The social makeup of the country was dramatically changed and a European-like cultural mainstream came to be established. The following cultural information depicts this newly dominant culture – a Westernised society whose values have been influenced by continual migration to the Australian continent in the last 250 years.
We encourage readers to visit the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Course for more information on Australian Indigenous cultural diversity.